The Steeler defense forced five takeaways and recorded five sacks yesterday against the Colts, reflecting the dominance even they expected. With interceptions from Joey Porter Jr., Jack Sawyer, and Payton Wilson and forced fumbles from T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, they are getting the contributions that they need.
At least, the Steelers got them this week on defense, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Next week is a new ball game, just like last week was, and the week before that. And the Steelers didn’t look too good in those two ballgames that preceded yesterday’s win over the Colts. HC Mike Tomlin isn’t forgetting about that.
“It’s a fine line between drinking wine and squashing grapes in this business. It’s nothing dramatic; it’s really not”, Tomlin said about what changes led to improved play on defense yesterday, via the Steelers’ website. “A couple plays here and there and it might have been different last week. We don’t give up the 59-yard ball or the 33-yard ball, we don’t let them convert on 4th and 1 in the flat, for example, in the third quarter. That’s football at this level. It’s a limited number of plays or sequences that can really change the trajectory of an outcome. We’re still the same group that stunk it up last week. That’s football”.
For two consecutive weeks, the Steelers defense allowed 30-plus points and 450-plus yards off offense. Unsurprisingly, they lost both games. Worse still, they went three games without forcing a single takeaway, and sacks became scarce. The week before yesterday’s game, they did not record even one sack.
So what is different about the Steelers defense that beat the Colts yesterday compared to the one the Packers dismantled? Necessity forced some changes, like DeShon Elliott’s injury. But they also brought in S Kyle Dugger via trade, who functionally played every snap. They moved Jalen Ramsey to safety, with half of the safety room ailing. With that juggling, perhaps, they also made some necessary schematic adjustments.
But this is still the same Steelers defense fell apart in the second half against the Packers. They went five-for-eight in the second half on third down, putting up 28 points. And they went into halftime with a two-possession lead, then lost by two possessions.
While the Colts came back to make the game look more respectable on the scoreboard, however, this was not a game that spent much time feeling “close”. At least by the second half, the Steelers began pulling away. Indianapolis scored a touchdown first, but the Steelers, driven by turnovers forced by the defense, scored 24 unanswered.
But Tomlin’s words aren’t very comforting, perhaps, for a fan in search of optimism. If the Steelers today are the same on defense as they had been, who’s to say next week won’t be just as bad as before?
Recommended for you